Improvement in cotton-cultivators



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FMILE ENVETE, OF CATAHOULA PARISH, LOUISIANA.'

Letters Patent No. 94,481, dated September 7, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN coTToNCULTIvAToRS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and rnaking part of the :ame

To all whom it 'may concern Be it known that l, EMILE ENETE, of Catahoula par1sh, State of Louisiana, have invented a certain new' and useful Improvement in Cotton-Cultivators;

and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to4 the annexed drawing, making a part of this specification.

The object of my invention is to har ott, chop out, and throw back the earth to the cotton-plant, at one and the same time, and by a single machine, and thus to economize the cultivation of cotton, by providing a means for diminishing the number of laborers and horses or mules required for any given number of acres, or any given lield.

In view of the great diculty, indeed, I may say the utter impossibility of procuring sufficiency of labor in the cotto11-regions of thc United States, my invention is of almost incalculable value and importance, as will be obvious to am'when I state, that by actual experiment, I have demonstrated that with it, one man, and two nulles, l can do the work, which, under present methods of cultivation, requires fourteen men and four mules. I

My invention consists of a combination ofa pair of front plows, for barring oit each cotton-row, a vibrating knife 'behind these plows, to chop out the cotton at regular intervals, and two covering-plows, tollowing after the knife, to throw back the. earth to the cotton, which said parts are all secured o1' mounted on the some machine, and so arranged as to be adjustable, and susceptible of being elevated above the ground, so as not to interfere with its movements from place to place when the machine is not in operation.

But my invention will be better understood by referring to the drawing, on which, 4at-- Figure 1, it is presented by a perspective view, and at Figure 2, a b of 1.

1Nithin a rectangular frame, A A l .13', that is mountedon four wheels, (l (l U" C'", by means of by a longitudinal sei-tional view, on line proper axles, to which itis secured by any usual or proper means, I secure an interior frame, consisting of the parts l) 1) 1) l)" 13", to and on which my two pairs ot'plows, and the intermediate chopping-ontknife or cutter, are attached and supported. The manner in which 1 do this, as wcll as the operation ot' my invention, can be best explained by reference to the drawing, on which the same letters denote thesanie parts at bot-h the figures.

On cross-bars E lfl, that arc securely fastened to the pieces D Dm', 1 mount the two barring-ott' plows F F between said pieces D Dm', by means of four projecting brackets, Vtwo of which' are shown at (t n', in which the shanks b b of said plows are fitted in such manner as to allow them to move easily 'up and down. The brackets not shown are secured to or in cross-bar E'.

The Cross-rods 1 2, hold thc plows F F in parallel relations to each other, at any desired distance apart, the rod l, in connection with a series of holes in the upper ends of the shanks b b', constituting a means, also,` for regulating the penetration of the plows, or

depth of the furrow, the regulation being eftected by changing the rod from two higher to two lower holes, or vrice lversa, accordingly as the penetration of the plows below the surface of the ground is to be increased or diminished.

The plows F F have their mould-boards in reverse position to each other, both looking outwardly, so that they throw the earth from the row of cotton which, in the operation of the machine, they straddle, the one running on one, and the other on the opposite side ot' said row.

By means of an eye-bolt, 0r any equivalent. mea-nsf a link, 3, at its lower extremity, is connected to the rod 2, whilst at its other or upper end, it is pivoted to' the arm 4 of the rock-shaft- 5. his shaft is supported in propel' journals, that are secured at or near the' lower edge ofthe pieces D' fl)"", substantially as shown.

To another arm, 6, projecting from the shaft 5 at about the angle shown, with respect to the arm 4, at its outer end is pivoted a rod, 7 that leads-and is pivoted to the head-lever S, that articulates, at its lower end, on a pin, 9, just in front'and on the right haml of the drivers seat G. rlhis mechanism constitutes my means for elevating the plows F F .above the ground, whenever the machine is to be turned around, after .having reached the cud of a row, to go upon another, or to be transported fromone place to another; for it will be seen that the driver has only to push the lever S forward, to lift the plows above the ground, and to pull it back, to put them again in position for work. v

A ratchet and pawl, or a spring-catch, or any other usual contrivance, may be emploved to maintain the lever 8 in any given position. Not claiming such contrivance, whatever may bc its nature, lI have not considercd it necessaryY to show it on the drawing.

By means of strong supporting` transverse pieces c e', I mount a vertical rock-slnift, H, between the pieces 1)"D, so as to be in precise line with a point midway between the plows F l1", that is to say, in the centre of the machine, with respect to its sides. V

For some distance down from the top of this rockshaft, it is provided with a screw-threzul, in 'order that a tap, d, may be fitted to raise or lower it, and hold it in any given position with relation to the ground.

To prevent in j nry to the screw-thread on shaft H, a loose sleeve is pnt around it, which beingr provided in the sleeve which rthe said shaft has, a tap similar to d may be put under saidfsleeye, so as to clampA it tightly, it' experience shall showift'tobe necessary.-

To the lower end of shaft H', which entends consid. erably below the vpin c', as shown, an arm, J, which lnear its outer extremity curves dowmvardly, and is "'liil'urcated, as shown, secured by means of a tap, f; and to this arm the cutter or knife K is attached, by

means of thc vertical slotted barK', which enters between the parts g It of said arm, and is secured therein by a bolt, 10. The -slot,in the bar K' abrds an additional/'means tofthe tap d, for regulating the heightot thecutterK above the. ground. The cutter K subserves the'funct-ion of' chopping out the cotton-plants at regular intervals, and vibrator-y motion is given to it, with the view to the, accomplishment of this end, in the following manner;

On the rear axle,L,.of the machine, a cog-wheel, L', is secured, which .gears into a pinion, L, on the axis of which, the same being suppoi ted in journals in the pieces'DmQm', .as shown, is placed a crank, M, connecting withafpitman, M', that is pivotedto a frame, N N' N", byl means of a projecting jaw,

rllhe frame N NN"is support-ed by guide-brackets l l, that are-fastened on the outside of the piece as shown, and lisconnectcd with the rock-shaft H by means ofthe slotted -arm li, projectingr therefrom, and a pin or bar, 'l'. 1 Y

In lthe operation of the machine, the rotation of the crank M imparts a reciprocating motion to the frame N N N", and through the slotted arm lt, vibrates the. cutter 1i at regular intervals, whatevermay -rbe the speed or rate `ot' progress of the machine-over the field. The' length ofithe arc ot" vibration of the cutter may be increased or diminished, by increasing or diminish.

ing the length ot' the crank M;,. and the intervals between the points at which the cut-ter passes over the row and chops out the plants, maybe made greater or less by changing the length of the arm J'.

A lever, S, loosely connected with the shaft Hi, with its fulerum inthe transverse piece 1)", and extending underthe drivers seat t0 a point over the cross-frame 1%', aifords the means by which the driver, with his toot, may, at his pleasure, elevate the shaft H and the cutter 1S, whenever au elevation is desirable or necessary.' l

At the. reareextremityof the machine, the coveringplows Y Yare secured, as shown, by means of projet-ting arms or brackets 7s loma', the latter not shown, v Asubstantially.in the same manner as the barring-ott plows F F' alJ secured in their place, except that the former have their turning-surfaces or mould-boards lookin g toward each other, so as to throw the earth to, and not from theplants. vThese plows are maintained in parallel positions, and at.anydesiredgdistance apart, by means ot' two rods a n', precisely as in the case of the barring-otlplows F Ff.. So also are they elevated abovethc ground. by .exactly similar. means, to wit, by a link, t,`thz 1 t is secured tothe roda', and connected with an arm, t', of a rock-shaft, T, which is provided with another arm,it", that, in its turn, connects with avl'iitman, '.ll', that leads to alever, n, on the left hand otl the drive-r, 'which operates in, all respects precisely like lever 8, and is held in any given position by the same means'v employed for that purpose, in connection with that. lever.

A tongue, W, secured in a. frame, W', or in any proper nn'umer,'atfords a means for attaching the animals tothe machine. 'lo facilitate the turning,r around ot' the machine, one wheel on each axle should be fitted on loosely, and in such a manner as that they can be adjusted outwardly and inwardly on the axles,'to adapt the machine to different widths of rows.

l-laving thus described vmy invention,

That I claim, and desire to secure by ent, is-.

rlhe combination of the barring-off plows F l1", and the cutter or knife K, .with the covering-plows Y Y', when these pa-rts are constructed, arranged, and oper- Letters Patate substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

E. ENETE. lVitnesses Remis R. RHODES, H. N. JENKINS. 

